Thursday, June 3, 2010

I saw Derek Dooley drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's, and his hair was perfect

There are many attributes of Derek Dooley which have aided him in his quest to win over Tennessee fans hardened over the Lane Kiffin debacle. He total professionalism. His ability to get along with others (Bryce Brown notwithstanding). And most importantly, his hair.Derek Dooley's hair has taken a life of its own. It's been analyzed by experts. It's been placed among the greatest fashion and physical attributes of the greatest of coaches. It has been featured prominently in creeds of fealty to Dooley. There are even places on the internet that allow you to look like him.With this in mind, someone at some point or another would have to ask Dooley about his celebrated mane. That someone happened to be Clay Travis of 104.5 The Zone in Nashville. Dooley's response?

Derek Dooley: You know, it's amazing. Some people are worried about what offense we're gonna run, other people's worrying about how multiple we are on defense. You guys are worried about my hair. . . . I will say this: I've had the same haircut since I was 12 years old. Okay, so do the math. That's 30 years of the exact same haircut. At some point your hair finally concedes and says, "I'm gonna just do what the heck you want me to do, and I'm not gonna fight it anymore." And so everybody has their hair fighting them all the time because they don't train it and do it consistently over time, all right? It's no different than training a team. You do it over, and you do it over, and you do it over, and you don't deviate from the plan, and you bring it across and you shape it down, and then eventually they do it how you want it. And then once my hair said, "Okay, I'll do it how you want it," I haven't changed. Why change?

The fact that Dooley hasn't changed his hairstyle since his youth puts him in a league with another Vols legend.

Tennessee fans love Derek Dooley's hair. Don't get used to it, though. Because this is what his daddy Vince looks like: